from Abstract: This study aimed to explore tobacco smoking in seven major cities of Latin America. The Cardiovascular Risk Factor Multiple Evaluation in Latin America (CARMELA) study is a cross-sectional epidemiological study of 11 550 adults between 25 and 64 years old in Barquisimeto, Venezuela; Bogota, Colombia; Buenos Aires, Argentina; Lima, Peru; Mexico City, Mexico; Quito, Ecuador; and Santiago, Chile. Tobacco smoking, including cigarettes, cigars and pipes, was surveyed among other cardiovascular risk factors.Santiago and Buenos Aires had the highest smoking prevalence (45.4% and 38.6%, respectively); male and female rates were similar. In other cities, men smoked more than women, most markedly in Quito (49.4% of men vs 10.5% of women). Peak male smoking prevalence occurred among the youngest two age groups (25–34 and 35–44 years old). Men and women of Buenos Aires smoked the highest number of cigarettes per day on average (15.7 and 12.4, respectively). Men initiated regular smoking earlier than women in each city (ranges 13.7–20.0 years vs 14.2–21.1 years, respectively). Exposure to secondhand tobacco smoke at workplace for more than 5 h per day was higher in Barquisimeto (28.7%), Buenos Aires (26.8%) and Santiago (21.5%). The highest prevalence of former smokers was found among men in Buenos Aires, Santiago and Lima (30.0%, 26.8% and 26.0% respectively).

August 14, 2010 - A Health Department spokesperson tells us (the author) that according to section 17-503(c) of the Smoke Free Air Act, smoking is not permitted in the outdoor areas of restaurants unless: "1) the outdoor area has no roof or other ceiling enclosure; (2) the smoking area constitutes no more than 25% of the outdoor seating capacity; 3) the smoking area is at least 3 feet away from the non-smoking area; and 4) the smoking area is clearly designated with signage." When asked if the rule also applies to bars, we were told, "It applies to FSEs, so both." (FSE=Food Service Establishment) However, the spokesperson also told us that smoking and drinking is permitted in these outdoor smoking sections.

But it's not just smokers in bar backyards that are suffering; the Health Department is coming for the strippers too... in their dressing rooms: The owner of a gentleman's club in Astoria tells us, "The Health Department came twice in five days and didn't find anyone smoking, so they went downstairs into the stripper's dressing room, and by the back door they found an ashtray. We got a $200 fine for that. Everything's about stats, everything's about numbers. I understand we need law and order, but they find an ashtray far from where any customer is going to be and they slap a fine on us?"I can't believe that if I own a bar I can't have a cigarette in my office. If you're paying five fucking grand a month in rent you can't go into your private office and have a cigarette? At my other bar in Manhattan we pay a grand a year to use the sidewalk for outdoor tables, and we got $500 worth of fines last year because you can't smoke outside. Why am I paying $9,000 for an outdoor section with tables so people can smoke, and then getting fined when they do?" It's almost as if the city is making more and more laws so they can collect more fines!

These American tobacco companies are paying nearly $30 million to settle charges (from the government's Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Justice Department) that they bribed foreign officials to win lucrative overseas tobacco sales contracts.

Universal was accused of bribing officials in Thailand, Malawi and Mozambique. Alliance One was accused of bribing officials in Thailand, China, Greece, Indonesia and Kyrgyzstan.

The SEC said the companies together paid more than $5 million in bribes to government officials in Thailand and other countries in order to illicitly obtain tobacco sales contracts.

Thailand Tobacco Monopoly officials have been accused of accepting bribes of over US$1.93 million (62 million baht) from US-based companies to ensure Brazilian-grown tobacco was sold locally, says the US Justice Department. "The charges relate to bribes paid to Thai government officials to secure contracts with the Thailand Tobacco Monopoly, a Thai government agency, for the sale of tobacco leaf," the Justice Department said.

August 13, 2010 - The Department of Health (DOH) is pushing for a 400% increase in the tax on cigarettes. The tax hike would bring up the price of a cigarette stick from P2 to P7, and a pack from P30 to P120. The DOH said the move would help reduce the number of smokers in the country, deter the youth who comprise 20% of the smoking population while allowing government to raise revenue to bring down the budget deficit. DOH research shows that 4 out of 10 Filipino adults smoke, while over 20% of Filipino smokers are between 15 to 20 years old.

There are about 17.3 million smokers in the Philippines, including Pres. Noynoy Aquino, according to Inquirer.net. According to the latest WHO report, the smoking percentage of Filipinos in the age group 13-15 years is 22.7% with more boys smoking than girls who are, nevertheless, catching up. Data from 151 countries show that 7% of adolescent girls smoke cigarettes as opposed to 12% of adolescent boys. In some countries, almost as many girls smoke as boys. (Filipino girls among biggest smokers in the world —WHO By Frankie Llaguno, Newsbreak, 5/28/2010) According to the latest WHO report, the smoking percentage of Filipinos in the age group 13-15 years is 22.7% with more boys smoking than girls who are, nevertheless, catching up. Data from 151 countries show that 7% of adolescent girls smoke cigarettes as opposed to 12% of adolescent boys. In some countries, almost as many girls smoke as boys. (Filipino girls among biggest smokers in the world —WHO By Frankie Llaguno, Newsbreak, 5/28/2010)

Health Secretary Enrique Ona told Inquirer.net, "These are just thoughts that came about during the meeting… For now, it's just an idea and an option we could take but I am not yet pushing for anything." (In early July Health Secretary Esperanza Cabral formally bowed out of the Department of Health (DOH) and government service, as she turned over her post to former National Kidney Transplant Institute (NKTI) executive director Enrique Ona. (Cabral turns over health department to Ona by Jeannette Andrade, Philippine Daily Inquirer, 7/5/2010) - We will miss Dr. Cabral - she did an excellent job - TobaccoWatch.org..

Ona's head executive assistant, Dr. Yolanda Oliveros, said in a report by Inquirer.net, "[During the meeting], the secretary was open to following the Obama model if the tax increase would be applied in the Philippines." Oliveros told The Philippine Star, "Increasing the tax will reduce access to tobacco because we will reduce the capacity (of smokers) to pay. In doing this, our primary targets are the students. If cigarettes become more expensive, they won't be able to afford it anymore."

FCAP Executive Director Dr. Maricar Limpin said in a statement, "It will go a long way for the Aquino administration, (which is) facing a huge budget deficit while dealing with very high expectations on poverty alleviation and addressing the social welfare of the people. There's a big disequilibrium between the cost of cigarettes and the cost of health care so government spends more on diseases caused by tobacco. Studies show the expenditure on health care has reached P270 billion compared to the revenue government is getting which is only P27 billion."

August 13, 2010 - In early June 2010 Philip Morris USA, Lorillard Tobacco Company, and R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., plus two major retail trade groups and two convenience stores, alleged in the Manhattan federal court lawsuit that the signs violate the sellers' rights by imposing the signs on them. (Big tobacco companies file lawsuit contesting NY City's anti-smoking signs - also see this news brief for background information on the graphic anti-smoking posters in retail outlets..)

NY City health officials are requiring stores that sell tobacco products to display graphic anti-smoking signs by March 1, 2010 but some experts and other New Yorkers question the effectiveness of the ad campaigns. Starting March 1, any city shops that sell cigarettes and other tobacco products that do not display these arresting anti-smoking signs risk fines of up to $2,000.

Massachusetts was poised to become the first state in the nation to force retailers to prominently display graphic warnings about the perils of smoking right where cigarettes are sold — at tobacco sales racks and next to cash registers. The proposal by the state Department of Public Health need the approval of the state Public Health Council. But now members of the council are waiting to see what happens with a pending New York lawsuit. "We are not going to take any action until after the initial hearing in New York City," says Jennifer Manley of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. (Massachusetts - may force retailers to display graphic warning signs of perils of tobacco..)

The tobacco companies argue that New York doesn't have the authority to require the posters. "The federal government has the exclusive jurisdiction over the content of these warnings," says Steve Callahan, spokesman for Altria, Philip Morris' parent company. "These gruesome signs were chasing customers away" who wanted to buy other items, such as milk, says Jim Calvin, of the New York Association of Convenience Stores (NYACS), which joined the lawsuit."There's a lot of evidence that these educational warnings work," says Eric Lindblom of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. He says the lawsuit aims to "scare other jurisdictions from taking similar action."

A poster showing diseased lungs still hangs at the 7-Eleven at 345 W. 42nd St., store manager Bilid Chaudhary says. He says customers read it and some have bought chewing tobacco instead of cigarettes as a result, but overall sales are largely the same. At the CVS drugstore at 253 1st Ave., the city's smaller sign remains at the registers, assistant manager Ana Gonzalez says, but customers pay no attention and it hasn't hurt business.

On July 22, 2010, American Legacy Foundation and a number of other public health organizations1 moved for leave to participate as amici curiae (friend of the court) in support of the defendants. Plaintiffs oppose this motion on the ground that the proposed amici are unlikely to offer any information or argument that would not be raised by the parties to this case.

August 13, 2010 - Tanker drivers have been warned to desist from unethical behaviour, as those who engage in smoking while driving will pay a fine of N100,000 (665.557 USD). This warning was handed down by the national chairman of Petroleum Tankers Drivers (PTD), Apostle Timothy Ogbu, during an interactive session with members in Port Harcourt.

Ogbu said drink driving was not only an offence against the state, but also the union, adding that such attitude could tarnish the image of their profession. The chairman cautioned members to obey road ethics and codes and ensure that their vehicle particulars are updated with their original driver’s licence in place.

The PTD boss said the executive members of the union was concerned over the recklessness of some tanker drivers, saying that was why he was on official visit to all depots to sensitise members of the need for attitudinal change. Ogbu also alerted them to the danger in answering or making phone calls while driving and warned that any member caught in the act would be fined accordingly.

"I come to Pennsylvania because it's so much cheaper," said Jeff Hochteil, a trucker from upstate Walden, NY, who saves nearly $50 each time he makes the 30-mile drive to Matamoras, Pa., to pick up cartons of smokes.

New York state sold 28.7 million cigarette tax stamps in July, down from 43.1 million the previous year, said a spokesman for the state Department of Taxation and Finance. That translates to $125 million in cig-tax revenue last month, barely more than the $119 million haul in July 2009 despite the massive tax hike.

The numbers confirm reports from convenience-store owners that cigarette sales have dropped 25 to 35 percent since the state hit smokers with a $1.60-a-pack increase.

Retailers said sales were off by as much as 45 percent in stores bordering low-tax states like Pennsylvania and Vermont and tax-free Indian reservations in western New York and on Long Island.

In June, the Legislature approved Paterson's plan to raise the state tax on cigarettes 58 percent as part of a breathtaking $290 million levy on tobacco products meant to save the teetering state treasury.

The hike raises the average price of a pack of Marlboros to $11.60 in New York City, compared to $5.93 in Matamoras PA.

"People aren't going to buy cigarettes in New York and now all the money is going everywhere else," said Darrell Dirr of upstate Middletown as he purchased smokes from one of the many tobacco outlets clustered over the Pennsylvania border.

August 13, 2010 - The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) said Thursday, August 12th that it plans to resume shipping possibly as soon as August 27th care packages with cigarettes and other tobacco to soldiers serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.

However, Express Mail doesn't deliver to most overseas military addresses. The new instructions would allow tobacco shipments to military addresses through Priority Mail, which does ship to deployed troops, with delivery confirmation instead.U.S. Sen. Herb Kohl, the bill's sponsor, said in a statement that he was notified Thursday of the new instructions. "I'm pleased that the Postal Service responded so quickly to the concerns of our military families and found a way to honor the original intent of the bill: to keep cigarettes out of the hands of children and prevent tobacco smugglers from profiting on the black market," he said.

Kohl recently sent a letter to the Postmaster General asking him to change the regulations, because the bill also expressly permits the shipping of tobacco from adult to adult, including to military addresses.

August 12, 2010 - Mail order cigarette sellers from the Seneca Nation and elsewhere were handed another setback at federal court this afternoon. In an order filed about 3 p.m., U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara refused to further delay the enforcement of a new federal law that prevents businesses from selling cigarettes through the mail.

Seneca Nation businesses oppose the new law, saying it will destroy the tribe's lucrative mail order tobacco industry, which has provided low- and middle-income jobs to thousands of Senecas while turning a few into millionaires. The Seneca businesses will continue their appeal of the new law, but the case now moves up to the Second Circuit Federal Appeals Court in New York City.

So far, the Senecas have "failed to establish a clear likelihood" that their appeal will be successful, Arcara wrote in an eight-page ruling. "Preventing [cigarette sellers] from using the mails pending appeal will undoubtedly impact the profitability of their business," Arcara wrote. "Postal delivery clearly represents the most efficient and most cost-effective means for delivery of their products. However ... it is not the only means, and alternative ways to deliver their products do exist."

Supporters of the law say its aim is to prevent teenagers from buying cigarettes through the mail. They say the Senecas are by far the largest mass marketers of cheap cigarettes in the entire nation. One anti-smoking group, the Campaign For Tobacco-Free Kids, estimates that 3.4 million Americans under the age of 18 are regular smokers. The group alleges that tobacco Web sites, such as those run by the Senecas, make it easy for teens to illegally buy smokes.

Seneca Nation smokeshop owners filed a legal challenge to the law in late June. On July 30, Arcara ruled that the government has the legal right to ban the mailing of cigarettes, but he said the tax collections ordered by the law were not legal. (In a mixed decision, on Friday, July 30th, Judge Richard Arcara upheld the mail-order ban contained in the Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking Act (PACT) but temporarily exempted more than 140 Seneca-owned businesses from a provision requiring them to comply with all taxing laws in the places they sell cigarettes. (Seneca Indians - split ruling from NY judge on cigarette regulation..)

On Tuesday, August 10th Seneca business owners asked Arcara to delay the government ban on mail order cigarette sales until their appeal can be heard by a higher court.

The Senecas say many of their mail-order smokeshops already have gone out of business because of the new law. "Businesses have stopped operating and people have lost jobs," said Lisa A. Coppola, an attorney for one tobacco business owned by Seneca Nation member Aaron Pierce.

August 12, 2010 - EUGENE — The state Department of Human Services report shows the smoking rate in Oregon has dropped significantly since the state began its Tobacco Prevention and Education Program in 1996. The report shows fewer people are smoking in Oregon overall, although the rate among people with lower incomes has not changed.The report says smoking among lower-income people "has stubbornly remained at around 35 percent." One in three adults earning less than $15,000 per year was a smoker, compared with one in 10 adults earning $50,000 or more.

Overall, the smoking rate declined from 24 percent of Oregonians in 1996 to 17 percent in 2007. Rates among children also dropped sharply, from 22 percent of eighth-graders in 1996 to 9 percent in 2007, and from 28 percent of 11th-graders in 1996 to 16 percent in 2007.

The amount of cigarettes sold in the state fell 46 percent from 1996 to 2009.

"This is good news, as smoking is the leading cause of preventable death," said Adelle Adams, a health educator in the Tobacco Prevention and Education Program of the Marion County Health Department. "As we see smoking rates go down, it's very likely that we will also see improved health outcomes." Clearly, prevention and education are paying off, Adams and other public health officials said Monday."We have the tobacco prevention programs throughout the state of Oregon. That program is in every county. We have a coordinator in every county who works on policy changes to reduce tobacco use," said Randi Phillips, a public health supervisor in the Polk County Health Department.

Anti-smoking policies and laws also have played a role in cutting smoking, officials said.

The report said most smokers want to quit, regardless of income level, citing surveys in which 80 percent of Oregonians who smoke said they would like to quit and 51 percent said they stopped for at least a day in the past year in an attempt toquit.

August 12, 2010 - RIYADH: The Ministry of Health is to launch a nationwide anti-smoking campaign to coincide with Ramadan, said Dr. Majed Al-Munif, supervisor general of the Tobacco Control Program at the ministry. “It’s a timely launch geared to reduce the smoking population in the Kingdom,” said Al-Munif, adding that the campaign will use both the electronic and print media.

Al-Munif said that special messages requesting people to quit smoking will be broadcast on television and radio, and thousands of leaflets, brochures and posters on how to quit smoking during Ramadan will be distributed and displayed throughout the Kingdom’s 20 health regions.

The ministry is to also launch a website — Kingdom of Saudi Arabia — Ministry of Health Tobacco Control Program on the subject. The site will also provide general guidelines for smokers to quit smoking, he added. “We will also try to reach a section of people through the Kingdom’s Daw’ah centers to encourage people to stop smoking,” said Al-Munif, adding that officials will also target people at the Kingdom’s airports.

“The holy month provides an ideal opportunity to give up smoking which has killed around 29 million people in the world,” he said, adding that the campaign will also be carried out through some 50 anti-smoking clinics across the Kingdom. The clinics will remain open daily from 9 p.m. to 3 a.m. during Ramadan.

There are 10 such clinics in Riyadh, two of which are exclusively for women.

“If smokers can do without tobacco during the day, why can’t they do without it during the night also? This will be the main emphasis of our campaign,” said Al-Munif. He also called on smokers to use scientific methods to quit smoking and not to reject the positive effects of herbal treatment. “We are trying to reach smokers through mosques, anti-smoking clinics, public places, parks, malls, hospitals and schools,” he said.

Indicating that more than 100 million people have died of tobacco-related diseases during the last century, he said that the number is likely to increase to 1 billion during this century if constructive efforts are not taken to curtail the problem.

The Kingdom imports around 45,000 tons of tobacco to the value of SR1.7 billion for local consumption. A portion of this is taken abroad by expatriate workers as cigarette prices are cheaper in the Kingdom compared to abroad.

More than 600,000 school students in the Kingdom under the age of 22 smoke. It was also found that the majority of students who smoke do so due to peer pressure, seeing fathers smoke, and frustration on account of parental neglect.

The Kingdom joined the anti-tobacco agreement in May 2005. Saudi Arabia ranks fourth among world countries in tobacco imports and consumption. (Saudi Arabia ratified theFramework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) public health treaty on May 9, 2005.)More than 15 billion cigarettes worth $168 million are smoked by Saudis per year, according to the figures of the Gulf Cooperation Council’s Health Ministers Council.

August 12, 2010 - Kessler, 51, starts at Lorillard on Sept. 13, succeeding Martin Orlowsky, the Greensboro, North Carolina-based maker of Newport cigarettes said today in a statement. Kessler will also replace Orlowsky as chairman next year, as part of succession planning the company started nine months ago. (Lorillard - president and CEO Orlowsky to be replaced after December 31, 2010)

Murray Kessler takes charge as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) examines the health effects of menthol in cigarettes. Marketing restrictions or banning menthol would threaten Newport, which accounted for 92 percent of Lorillard’s more than $5 billion in sales last year. A non-menthol version of Newport will go on sale in November, the company said last week. (Lorillard to launch non-menthol variety of Newport in November 2010..)

Kessler worked at Altria Group Inc. during the first six months of 2009, following the largest U.S. tobacco company’s acquisition of UST Inc. Kessler had served as chairman and CEO of UST, which now operates as an Altria division, U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Co. The unit’s products include Skoal and Copenhagen snuff. (Murray Kessler leaving Altria at the end of June 2009..)

Kessler’s compensation at Lorillard includes base pay of $1.2 million a year and a signing bonus of $1 million, according to a securities filing. Mr. Kessler earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Villanova University and an M.B.A. in marketing and finance from New York University's Stern School. Lorillard Inc. CEO Martin L. Orlowsky made 36 percent less in 2009 than on 2008.. The Board of Directors has entered into a consulting agreement with Mr. Orlowsky to provide ongoing advice to the Company for a period of two years following his retirement.

Field reports indicate convenience stores have suffered an average drop of 25% to 35% in cigarette packs during July, but that those in closest proximity to tribal outlets and state borders experienced losses of up to 45%. Meanwhile, Indian reservation and border-state "tax havens" are flourishing, with sales up as much as 300% at some outlets, NYACS reported.

"New York State has now increased its cigarette excise 691% in the past 10 years without closing off readily available channels for dodging that tax," said NYACS president James Calvin. "As a consequence, we're approaching the point where two-thirds of the cigarettes consumed in New York are purchased without collection of any New York State tax whatsoever.

"Law-abiding stores like ours lose enormous amounts of business, state and local governments lose hundreds of millions in tax revenue, and public health loses because the financial incentive to quit is easily and routinely circumvented. So what did the Governor and Legislature accomplish with this tax hike exactly?"

The upswing in tax evasion heightens the urgency for Gov. Paterson to follow through on the scheduled September 1 start of tax collection on Native American sales of cigarettes to non-Indian customers, currently the busiest avenue of cigarette tax avoidance in New York, costing the state $1.5 billion in lost revenue, according to NYACS.

The state law enacting the tobacco tax increases also set forth a plan to exercise New York's right to collect these taxes by requiring wholesale distributors, beginning Sept. 1, to certify that they are prepaying the tax before delivering cigarettes, so that the tax is built into the price paid by customers at both Indian and non-Indian stores.

The cigarette-tax plan would also allow the state to begin collecting taxes from the sale of cigarettes on American Indian reservations to non-tribal citizens, a revenue source that is expected to bring about $150 million. Cigarettes sold to tribe members would not be taxed.

Calvin said anyone who tries to attribute the 25% to 35% drop in sales to smokers quitting "is in La-La Land. Two or three percent, maybe as many as 5% have quit smoking. The rest just quit coming to our stores but continue to smoke cigarettes they found cheaper elsewhere."

The one-two tax punch threatens to cripple many c-stores—especially mom-and-pop independents and those closest to Indian reservations and the Pennsylvania border, NYACS said.

"It's not just the loss of sales revenue from cigarettes themselves," Calvin said. "It's fewer customers coming through the door to buy cigarettes and other merchandise. For example, many stores have seen a corresponding drop in lottery sales."

The Post-Standard newspaper reports a pack of Marlboros hovered around $6 or $7 a pack at convenience stores before the tax hike. Now, a pack costs $9.60. A pack of Senecas are $3.50 at the Onondaga Nation Smoke Shop. That's $2.52 less than the tax alone on the average pack of non-Nation cigarettes. A pack of Marlboro's costs $6.

August 11, 2010 - On This Day in History: On August 11, 1907 Brooklyn Daily Eagle, columnist Julius Chambers may have stepped on some toes, both male and female, with his comments on smoking in those days.

August 11, 2010 - A Seneca Nation businessman who is challenging a federal law that makes it illegal to ship cigarettes through the mail called the seizure of thousands of cartons of his cigarettes from a delivery truck "clear retaliation" for his lawsuit.

The cigarettes were seized Monday the day before lawyers for Aaron Pierce and 140 members of the Seneca Free Trade Association were due in U.S. District Court in Buffalo to continue their challenge to the Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking Act (PACT Act).

State tax agents pulled over the truck owned by Pierce's AJ's Wholesale LLC of Irving as it was making deliveries between Seneca reservations in western New York. Taxation and Finance spokesman Brad Maione confirmed cigarettes were seized because they did not bear state tax stamps as required by law. The cigarettes were on state property between the Cattaraugus and Allegany reservations when the seizure took place, he said.

New York state says it will return a truck full of untaxed cigarettes that was seized by taxing agents as it made deliveries between two Seneca Indian Nation reservations. State Taxation and Finance spokesman Brad Maione said Wednesday that while Monday's stop and seizure were legal, a review of the facts led to the decision to return Seneca businessman Aaron Pierce's truck and its contents. Maione did not elaborate. (NY to return seized Native American cigarettes, Associated Press, 8/11/2010)

Maione declined to comment Tuesday on Pierce's claim of retaliation or to release more information. He said an investigation was ongoing.

Lawyers were in U.S. District Court in Buffalo on Tuesday afternoon for a hearing on the new law that prohibits cigarette sellers from delivering tobacco by mail and requires them to comply with taxing regulations in the locations where they do business.

The Seneca businesses asked a judge to stop the government from enforcing the PACT Act while they appeal a recent court ruling that upheld the mail ban while putting a hold on the taxation provisions.

That split ruling also is being appealed by the government, whose lawyers argue that sellers should have to comply with laws in the areas where their products are delivered.

Seneca-owned businesses in western New York dominate the mail-order cigarette market.

Pierce said agents who conducted the seizure in the Cattaraugus County town of Dayton on Monday left his driver and boxes of melting candy along the side of the road. "This outrageous seizure is clear retaliation for my company's litigation in federal court," he said.

August 11, 2010 - U.S. Federal District Court Judge Richard Arcara today, August 9th will hear arguments by both sides – the U.S. government and the Seneca Free Trade Association -- appealing his split decision made last week regarding the constitutionality of the Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking Act (PACT Act), the Jamestown Post-Journal reported.

In a mixed decision, on Friday, July 30th, Judge Richard Arcara upheld the mail-order ban contained in the Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking Act (PACT) but temporarily exempted more than 140 Seneca-owned businesses from a provision requiring them to comply with all taxing laws in the places they sell cigarettes. (Seneca Indians - split ruling from NY judge on cigarette regulation..)

Approved by Congress and signed into law by President Obama earlier this year, the PACT Act would prevent cigarette shipments to be made using the U.S. Postal Service, as well as ensure remote sellers of cigarettes and tobacco products charged the applicable state excise taxes and verified buyers' ages.

The appeals, both filed Friday, August 6th object to Arcara's ruling that a mailing prohibition on cigarettes and other tobacco was legal, but did not require tax collections from remote sellers of tobacco products.

The Seneca Free Trade Association, made up of Seneca merchants, challenged the constitutionality of the act, and questioned the legality of its members having to comply with a requirement of prepaying the taxes of the shipment's destination, the report stated.

While Senecas also argue they should be able to ship products, the federal government believes taxes should be paid on the products, an element of the law Arcara ruled against.

Until a ruling is made, the Seneca organization is asking Arcara to allow its members to use the U.S. Postal Service.

U.S. Attorney William Hochul said his office feels congress acted appropriately in voting for the PACT Act, the president signed the law, making it "the law of the land." "It's our role to defend that," he told the newspaper.

In its appeal of Arcara's ruling that taxes do not yet have to be collected for interstate tobacco sales, the government cited other interstate examples, including on-line pharmacies that must comply with other states' licensing of pharmacists and gun laws that must be adhered to for other states, the newspaper reported.

Governmental court documents cited by the paper state Seneca merchants "have no right to undercut their brick-and-mortar competitors by selling tobacco products tax-free." It also noted Congress found remote sales make it cheaper and easier for minors to obtain tobacco products."Congress crafted the PACT Act to confront special problems presented by remote tobacco product sales by requiring remote sellers comply with laws of destination jurisdictions," the governmental court documents state, adding Arcara's previous ruling not requiring the tax collections is "against public interest."

August 11, 2010 - Back on August 4, 2010 we reported that big tobacco companies are fighting back against the Government's plans to introduce plain cigarette packaging by funding small retailers in a massive advertising campaign timed to coincide with the final weeks of the election campaign - the election is on August 21, 2010. (Australia - big tobacco fighting back against plans to introduce plain cigarette packaging.. - also see background information at this news brief..)

The anti-Labor advertisements against the Federal Government's proposed plain packaging for tobacco products are scheduled to begin running today in newspapers after initially being pulled.

Sources in the retail industry confirmed that Coles, which chairs the board of the AACS, forced the board to withdraw the retail group and its members, including Caltex, Shell and BP, from the campaign, after being misled on the nature of the ads.

It also can be revealed that an alliance of health and medical bodies is launching legal action against the tobacco industry to force the ads to be withdrawn.

Neither the Alliance nor the tobacco companies returned calls.

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has denied involvement from Liberal Party members after it was revealed that Liberal strategist Crosby Textor was on a retainer with British American Tobacco. The two men employed by the tobacco industry, believed to be the campaign masterminds, were also former Howard Government advisers and one was a former employee of Crosby Textor.

Public Health Association of Australia president Mike Daube yesterday said they had obtained legal advice to try to stop the campaign going ahead. "I would say it reflects well on Wesfarmers and Coles, having a major company acting very responsibly," he said. "We have legal advice that health groups have sought, with preliminary advice from Julian Burnside SC, there is an arguable case that the advertisements are misleading and deceptive."One alliance member said he was appalled at the way the campaign had been run, and that the tobacco industry was hiding behind the retailers: "We have become the middle man in this, it has been run so badly."

The survey, conducted in May 2010, showed that 23.9 percent of Japanese adults are smokers. The incidence of smoking in Japan dropped by one percentage point between 2009, when 24.9 per cent of the country’s adult population comprised smokers, and this year, by when that figure had fallen to 23.9 per cent.

The incidence of smoking among adult men this year, at 36.6 per cent, was down by 2.3 percentage points, while the incidence of smoking among adult women, at 12.6 per cent, was up by 0.2 of a percentage point.

Using population figures from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications’ Statistics Bureau, the above figures indicate that Japan has 24.95 million smokers, down from 26.01 million last year. Of this year’s total figure, 18.40 million would be men and 6.55 million women, while last year’s total figure would have comprised 19.57 million men and 6.44 million women.JT says the decrease in the smoking rate in Japan between 2009 and 2010 was a continuation of the trend of recent previous years. It attributed the decrease to various factors, including the aging of Japan’s society, increasing health consciousness, more stringent smoking regulations, and anticipation of major retail price increases in October that will be necessary mainly because of a planned tobacco excise tax hike. In presenting the results of the survey, JT said it would continue its efforts to help build a society in which smokers and non-smokers could co-exist in harmony.

See first reference for survey press release with tables and access to previous years surveys.